24 June, 2017

America’s “shadow war” in Somalia gets a fresh start under Trump

U.S.
airstrikes in Somalia have killed over 400 people in the last eight
years as part of a quiet war on “terrorism.” Parts of the country
have been designated as “active war zones,” allowing for more
strikes to take place with little to no oversight.

by
Roqayah Chamseddine

Not
long before Donald Trump took his presidential oath, the Obama
administration was taking care of unfinished business in a part of
the world that many Americans likely never think much about. In
Somalia, a nation forced into a state of emergency thanks in part to
an ongoing famine that is being fueled by a covert U.S. war on
terrorism.

Obama
made some of his final foreign policy impressions by expanding the
so-called war on terrorism there, even as he reached the final days
of his last term in office. But it should be noted that the U.S.’
interest in Somalia has little to do with actually stopping terrorism
and more to do with strengthening its grip on the country’s oil
reserves.

In
the early 1990s, U.S. petroleum companies Conoco, Amoco, Chevron and
Phillips flocked to Somalia to exploit their natural resources for
profit, just as many companies had done in Africa before them. With
the expansion of U.S. bases across the continent, it’s no surprise
that this exploitation has continued.

According
to data from The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, between January
2008 and January 2017, there were at least 38 confirmed U.S.
airstrikes in Somalia, killing upwards of 409 people, including three
children. These numbers are based on available data, so they could be
much higher.

Somalia
is only one target of a much larger drone campaign that swelled in
size under the Obama administration. Now it looks like Trump may take
this campaign even further, especially in light of statements
accusing Obama of not doing enough to stop extremist factions in the
country, specifically Al Shabaab.

After
relaxing restrictions in March that made it harder for the Pentagon
to carry out airstrikes in Somalia, Trump’s first fatal salvo in
the Somalian shadow war took place on June 11, with AFRICOM claiming
that eight members of Al Shabaab were killed. Now that measures have
been put in place designating parts of southern Somalia as “active
war zones,” less vetting will be required for U.S. military
strikes, which will undoubtedly result in more casualties.

Trump,
who previously attempted to cloak his partisan opposition to the
Obama administration and Hillary Clinton in loose anti-war rhetoric,
has since become an even more hardened pro-war politician. It’s
likely that the U.S. military will expand its grip on the world under
his command, with greater casualties not far behind.